Does History Repeat?

I have a wonderful family member who has been in a relationship for several years. The gentleman she has been living with refuses to settle down and commit to marriage or kids. He states that he came from a broken family - with divorce, abuse, neglect, and issues with step-families etc... He uses this as an excuse to bypass committing any further to their relationship.

My family member is completely heartbroken as she loves this man deeply, and had hoped that after several years of showing how committed she has been to him that his mind would change. She is wanting to start a family, and is certainly not getting younger. She does not want to bring a child into this world by tricking him and subjecting him to responsibilities he is adamently against. Unfortunately he doesn't see starting a new family of his own as anything other than history repeating itself.....

What are young couples to do in this situation? Do you believe that just because you personally may have come from a broken family, that you are doomed to repeat your parents decisions? Do you believe that you will fall into the same mistakes others have made before you?

Or are you optimistic that every person on this planet determines their own fate? Plots their own course? Makes their own decisions and follows their own stars? And can learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and create their own new path?

This coming new year - I can only hope and pray that each and everyone out there is strong enough to believe that they are in control over their own destiny, change the course of their own future, and live life to the fullest. That you are all able to find what it is in life that makes you happy and have the drive and ambition to go for it at all costs. As it has been said - "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all..." - Tennyson

Wishing you all the most amazing and LOVED new year in 2018!